Apple has quietly announced new models of the iPad Air and iPad mini, which succeeds 2015's iPad mini 4.
New iPad Air
The iPad Air has a larger 10.5-inch LED screen — bigger by 20 percent, to be exact — than its predecessor's 9.7 incher. It sports a True Tone display with a 2,224 x 1,668 resolution (264 ppi), and it's fully laminated, meaning it has better visibility because there's a smaller gap between the panel and the glass cover. It's also 70 percent faster, thanks to its A12 Bionic processor with the company's Neural Engine technology.
Touted as a productivity machine, it's compatible not only with a Smart Keyboard but also with the Apple Pencil.
From the look of things, it doesn't have Face ID. Instead, it has a Home button with Touch ID. It also has a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a Lightning port.
It could be considered as the successor to the discontinued 10.5-inch iPad Pro, but it's lagging behind when it comes to the display — that is to say, it doesn't feature a ProMotion 120 Hz refresh rate.
New iPad Mini
The iPad mini retains its 7.9-inch screen, but it's brighter by 25 percent compared with previous generations. On top of that, it's getting the same bump in performance as the new iPad Air, boasting the same A12 Bionic chip with Neural Engine.
It has an LED True Tone display with a 2,048 x 1,536 resolution (326 ppi), which is also fully laminated. Productivity-wise, it features Apple Pencil support, making it the company's smallest slate to be compatible with the stylus.
Just like the iPad Air, it doesn't appear to have Face ID. It's using Touch ID as well and has a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a Lightning port too.
Pricing, Configurations
Both iPads are available in 64 GB and 256 GB configurations and come in Silver, Space Gray, or Gold. The iPad mini starts at $399, while the iPad Air at $499. As usual, there's a Wi-Fi + Cellular option, which bumps up the price of the iPad mini to $529 and the iPad Air to $629.
The new iPad Air and iPad mini are already available on the Apple Store website and are expected to hit the shelves next week.
pic.twitter.com/Iqz1MHTg1p — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 18, 2019
